According to a recent report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before age 18.  One in five women will be the target of a rape attempt.  There are 39 million sexual abuse survivors in the U.S.  The pain and distress that follows childhood sexual assault is often permanent and difficult to treat.  Victims may act out their frustration and pain in destructive ways, and disabling mental and physical disorders are not uncommon.

Washington State has been a national leader in the recognition of the harm caused by childhood sexual abuse.  Its extended statute of limitations––the deadline for filing lawsuits related to childhood sexual abuse––was enacted more than twenty years ago and serves as a model for other states.  The limitations period in Washington is based on established medical science findings that an adult victim of childhood sexual abuse may not know he or she has been injured until years and years after the abuse has stopped.

Our trial attorneys have represented children and adults in hundreds of cases seeking justice for child sexual abuse survivors.  Many have involved sex abuse by Catholic clergy as well as by ministers, elders and counselors in other churches. Other recent cases have involved sexual abuse by public and private schoolteachers, coaches and counselors, doctors, pilots, foster care workers, and other adults charged with caring for children.  Our clients have shown great courage and strength in their attacks on the darkness surrounding childhood sexual abuse.

Representative Matters

• We represented Plaintiff J.C., who had been sexually abused by a priest employed at Seattle University.  The court ordered the employer to produce documents which disclosed, for the first time, its practice of removing sexually abusing priests, including former Gonzaga University President Rev. Jack Leary and former Seattle University Professor Rev. Michael Toulouse. The Oregon Province proposed to “admit liability” at the time of trial and it settled shortly before trial.  As a result of Plaintiff J.C.’s case, the Oregon Province disclosed records of 20 or more men who were sexually abused by Toulouse and its practice of removing and re-assigning priests who sexually abused children.  GTH continues to represent men who were sexually abused as children by Toulouse and others.


• We represented more than thirty former students of Briscoe Memorial School, a former orphanage and boarding school located in Kent, Washington.  Investigations revealed that several Christian Brothers sexually abused children, and that problems at the school were known to Archdiocesan officials.  Some of the Christian Brothers who worked at Briscoe School also worked at the infamous Mt. Cashel School in Newfoundland, Canada, where eleven Christian Brothers were eventually charged with felonies relating to child abuse.  These plaintiffs have settled for more than $14 million to date.


• We represented three minors who were sexually abused at a church/daycare by an employee.  The insurer for the defendants – Safeco Insurance Company – claimed that coverage for the negligent acts was limited to $100,000 under a “Sexual Misconduct Endorsement”.  After taking an assignment of rights against Safeco, the trial court approved a settlement of $2,000,000.  We then brought a coverage action against Safeco, and the case resolved for a confidential amount. 


• We represented sexual abuse victims against the Spokane Diocese.  The Spokane Diocese declared bankruptcy, and after lengthy proceedings, those claims resulted in a $48 million dollar recovery for the victims.